This project will demonstrate a prototype microcontact printing aligner for use in ophthalmic tissue engineering. The performance of the microcontact printing aligner will be refined and validated by experiments conducted in collaboration with the Stanford Ophthalmic Tissue Engineering Laboratory. Functioning much like traditional rubber-stamping methods, microcontact printing is widely used to print molecules, such as growth factors or extracellular matrix proteins, in well-defined locations at the nanoscale. This project focuses on microcontact printing applied to a tissue engineering solution for age-related macular degeneration. Using microcontact printing on autologous lens capsule, the Stanford Ophthalmic Tissue Engineering Laboratory is developing a replacement retinal pigment epithelium for treating age-related macular degeneration. Current microcontact printing techniques depend strongly on the skill and ability of the researcher. A prototype tool will be built to improve the reproducibility of microcontact printing. This will require investigation into and enhancement of the stamping materials and techniques. Additionally, this tool will allow for printing of multiple layers, with alignment between the layers. A tool for aligned microcontact printing is a significant enhancement over the current techniques, and something that is neither commercially available, nor easily developed in most biological research facilities.
